Public polling on coal and alternatives

Opinion Research Corporation U.S. Polling
In October, 2007, Civil Society Institute released the results of a poll of 1,003 U.S. citizens conducted by Opinion Research Corporation.

The authors of the poll reported: "75 percent of Americans –-including 65 percent of Republicans, 83 percent of Democrats and 76 percent of Independents --would 'support a five-year moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in the United States if there was stepped-up investment in clean, safe renewable energy --such as wind and solar --and improved home energy-efficiency standards.' Women (80 percent) were more likely than men (70 percent) to support this idea.Support also was higher among college graduates (78 percent) than among those who did not graduate from high school (68 percent).

The exact question posed by the survey was as follows: More than half of power plant-generated electricity comes from coal. Experts say that power plants are responsible for about 40 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide pollution linked to global warming. There are plans to build more than 150 new coal-fired power plants over the next several years. Would you support a five-year moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in the United States if there was stepped-up investment in clean, safe and renewable energy –such as wind and solar –and improved home energy-efficiency standards? Would you say definitely yes, probably yes, probably no, definitely no, or don't know.

The results were as follows:


 * 30% "definitely yes"
 * 45% "probably yes"
 * 13% "probably no"
 * 8% "definitely no"
 * 4% "don't know"

In June, 2008, Opinion Research Corporation asked the same question again. The results were as follows:
 * 38% "definitely yes"
 * 37% "probably yes"
 * 11% "probably no"
 * 11% "definitely no"
 * 3% "don't know"

Opinion Research Corporation Montana poll, October 2008
A survey conducted by the Opinon Research Corporation for TheClean.org and the Civil Society Institute found that Montanans favor renewable energy and energy efficiency over fossil fuels and nuclear power. The survey of 601 Montana residents found that:


 * Almost 70 percent of Montana residents support a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants. When brokent down by political party, the freeze on new coal plants is favored by 83 percent of Democrats, 59 percent of Republicans, and 53 percent of Independents.
 * 56 percent of Montana residents prefer energy soures such as solar and wind, increased energy efficiency, and highly fuel-efficient vehicles as a means to achieving independence to foreign energy, as opposed to only 35 percent who favor oil from offshore drilling, more coal power plants, and nuclear power.
 * Only 10 percent of Montana residents favor allowing coal-to-liquids technology. 39 percent oppose subsidies for CTL under any circumstnces, and 48% would allow subsidies only with strict environmental controls.

WorldPublicOpinion.org poll, November 2008
A poll of over 20,000 people in 21 nations found strong support for government requirements that utilities us more alternative energy, such as wind and solar, and requiring businesses to use energy more efficiently, even if these steps result in increased costs for energy and other products. Less than half of the nations polled favored an increased emphasis coal, oil, or nuclear energy.

Interviews were conducted in the U.S., China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia, Argentina, Azerbaijan, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Macau, Mexico, the Palestinian Territories, Poland, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Ukraine.

Asked how much emphasis government should place on a variety of approaches to new energy generation, the most popular tactic was to increase emphasis on solar and wind energy. Majorities favored it in 20 of the 21 nations, averaging 77 percent. Only Russia, which is a major oil producer, lagged behind, with 50 percent in favor. Even with increased costs for alternative energy, majorities in all but two countries were in favor, averaging 69 percent. Russia had and Azerbaijan (also an oil producer) had fewer than half in favor. Increasing energy efficiency was the second most popular approach with an average of 74 percent in favor.

Only 40 percent of respondents favored putting more emphasis on nuclear energy, with 9 of the 21 countries favoring the idea, including China (63%), Jordan (58%), Kenya (57%) and Nigeria (56%). On average only 40 percent of those polled supported putting more emphasis on building coal or oil-fired plants. Only seven nations favored doing so, including Kenya (69%), Jordan (63%), Argentina (60%), Nigeria (56%) and Turkey (52%).

Washington Post/ABC News Poll, December 2008
A poll conducted of 1,003 adults across the United States found that, in addition to focusing on the economy, 84 percent of respondents want Barack Obama to require electricity companies to increase the use of renewable energy sources. 55 percent want the new President to tackle the issue immediately upon taking office in January. The poll also found that 67 percent of Americans believe that Obama will be able to implement policies to reduce global warming.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Public opinion polling on coal in Australia

External resources

 * World Publics Strongly Favor Requiring More Wind and Solar Energy, More Efficiency, Even If It Increases Costs, World Public Opinion.org, November 19, 2008